There is a need for spin launching single and plural space and/or reentry vehicles or bodies from an orbital or other extra-atmospheric body. It is highly desirable to be able to individually control launch speed and spin rate and provide preselected trajectories and ballistic stability for every launched vehicle.
Hence, there is a need for an apparatus capable of launching one or several bodies at individually selected spin rates and at independent trajectories. Typically, launched vehicles should have about the same spin rate for ballistic stability, but will be launched at different velocities to provide stable, independent and separate trajectories.
It is important that no "tip-off" error be introduced during a spin launch so that a closely spaced plurality of vehicles can be simultaneously or nearly simultaneously launched with minimum chance of collision.
Prior art devices typically used separate power sources such as springs, compressed cold gas, pyrotechnic hot gas and the like to provide rectilinear and spin motions. Such devices have induced tip-off error in vehicular trajectories caused by the relatively large clearance tolerance needed for essentially frictionless movement between parts. In addition, these devices were not adjustable, but were limited to fixed velocity and spin rates. Some of these devices induced rectilinear motion only and depended on spacecraft booster stages to induce necessary stabilizing angular velocity or spin.